GREEN RIVER — Miracle League of Sweetwater County is offering athletic opportunity to people of all abilities, ages, and stages, and it’s the first of its kind in Wyoming.
According the the Miracle League website, “the Miracle League removes the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime.”
League board members Brittney Montgomery and Brandon Tornes discussed their plans for the league with the Green River City Council Tuesday night. The league previously went by the name of the Challenger League, but has now joined the Miracle League organization. The Miracle League has a presence across the nation and internationally, as well as partnerships with the Major League Baseball.
“With us turning into the Miracle League, we now are going to have kind of an aggressive plan to build an ADA inclusive baseball field,” Montgomery said.
The league will play at Stratton Meyers while they are raising funds for the new facility, but ADA inclusivity is something that is lacking at the city’s current fields. Montgomery said they need to raise $1 million to bring their project to fruition, which is phase two of their goals. Phase one is acquiring some land for the field.
Tornes said they are currently looking at the flat land behind the houses before you drop into Stratton Meyers. The Bureau of Land Management owns the land but leases it to the city, so the league must work with the BLM in addition to the city. They have not yet spoken with the BLM. Tornes said that along with the field, they will need a parking lot to accommodate several wheelchairs, and large dugouts that can accommodate wheelchairs. They would also like to put an ADA inclusive playground in as well, and eventually maybe a miniature golf course for the kids to play and have fun.
Montgomery said the league has a few people who travel from Rock Springs to Green River to play, and they’d like to find a location for the field in Green River. She said the league is one of the few things that brings people from Rock Springs to Green River.
“We really want to keep it here in Green River,” she said.
Fifty athletes have already signed up to play for the Miracle League this coming summer. Montgomery said if they build an indoor facility they can have activities year-round, rather than just for a summer season. Additionally, she said they could eventually have Miracle League cheerleaders and other sports.
“It’s just an awesome thing to see when you have those kids out there,” Tornes said. “And a few of them can really hit that ball and crank it out into the outfield, and they have the biggest grins on their face.”
Mayor Pete Rust said getting approval from the BLM will be the biggest hurdle but that the land near Stratton Meyers is definitely a possibility. He said the city will keep in touch with the league.
“I think it is an exciting situation, not only for the kids that you’re mentioning but for the whole community too,” Rust said.
